


the stars that seem to shine as bright as you do

by aethkr



Series: hues of blue and red [2]
Category: Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 07:39:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17076137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aethkr/pseuds/aethkr
Summary: Before, the stars was something You thought to be the most beautiful. Now, she has someone more beautiful than the night sky and its children:Her sweet, beautiful Riko.





	the stars that seem to shine as bright as you do

“Hey, hey, Riko.”

“Hm?”

“You see those stars? Those pretty, pretty stars? Those blinding, but perfect stars? The stars that—”

“Yeah, what about them?”

“They shine as bright as you do. No wait, you shine brighter! You are the prettiest star Riko! Hehe~”

 

* * *

 

 _Yō…_  

_I have a confession._

 

* * *

 

Riko was walking home with Yō, who invited herself to her place. She hoped that her mom wouldn’t mind having a friend over, but her mom’s usually out, so it’s always fine.

Not that it’d be bad if her mom  _were_ there, Riko was just considering the possibilities.

Whenever Riko was with Yō, she was giddy. She doesn’t wear it on her sleeves. She felt the most uncomfortable and the most comfortable and whenever Riko looked at Yō she felt like smiling.

She was thoughtful and dedicated, but also sensitive and prone to being jealous. She was Riko’s star. Although it’s not official, Riko has a  _really_ imaginative mind. And it’s both a blessing and a curse.

Riko remembered yesterday, when Yō invited her to go stargazing with her. Kanan was the one Yō was usually with while doing this, so she was confused when Kanan wasn’t around. She was surprised that she wasn’t a plus one. Maybe Kanan was busy, she thought.

She remembered how silent yet enthusiastic Yō was. When the mouth doesn’t speak, the eyes do. Her eyes shined, but maybe that was because Yō was taking pictures of the stars and the light probably bounced off? Is that possible?

Yō told her about the many constellations in the sky. It doesn’t  _suit_ her from an outsider’s perspective, but Yō could get really sentimental at times. Times when she would show her insecurities as a student, as an athlete, as an idol, as a daughter, and as a friend.

The girl didn’t have a motto other than “full speed ahead!” which was Aqours’ saving grace most of the time. When they felt at their lowest, Yō hit them with moral support and everyone was back on their feet, including Yō herself.

Yō wasn’t as open as Riko hoped she’d be. When she was jealous over her “taking” Chika away, she wished Yō spoke up about it. But maybe confrontation was a scary thing to Yō, despite how much she’d charge into situations even Riko considered risky.

Oh, she digressed. Anyhow, Yō was telling her about how beautiful the stars were. That it made her feel at ease, that they were her reminder when she was down that she got through another day, and that in itself is amazing already.

The stars reminded Yō of Riko. Calm, beautiful, bright, amazing. She was lucky that it was dark, lest she’d see the blush forming on Riko’s face.

Was Yō flirting with her? Impossible. She doesn’t deserve Yō.

 

* * *

 

_I never saw the signs._

 

_I never saw the hints._

 

_I never saw the sweet smile you gave me_

_every time I entered the classroom._

 

_But I noticed how fast my heart would beat_

_whenever you did._  

 

* * *

 

Yō had a playboy feel about her. It resembled an aura like Kanan’s. She laughed. Those two are vicious when paired together. Both boys and girls fall for them, but like every cliche romance story, it’s always a one-sided relationship.

Being in a small town where everyone is on a first-name basis had its perks and cons. One, it wasn’t that embarrassing to talk to your neighbor out of the blue. Two, you didn’t have to be all suspicious about the person living next door. Although the cons are that if you’re popular, you’re  _popular_. Almost everyone knew you and it was a pain to run away from the many fans and would-be suitors. Riko found it more difficult to run away from Yō’s fanclub whenever she was caught hanging around with the girl rather than Yō’s experience running away from her own fanclub.

_(I’d rather not die, haha)_

With the size of Yō’s fanclub, Riko doesn’t think she’s worthy of such a friend. She doesn’t think she was deserving enough to stand beside Yō instead of following her. She played piano, and listening to herself play was enough to make her happy. It was beautiful, the piano was. Riko aspired to reach that kind of confidence, the knowledge that she is worthy of everything she has and being humble about it.

The piano doesn’t boast its beauty. It sits there and waits for people to spare it a glance.

Maybe if Riko was more straightforward, she’d have more friends than now. Although she’s already content with what she has, everyone has such a wonderful personality and they all support each other and that’s enough.

 

* * *

 

_“So, you’re performing in 30 minutes?” Yō gave her an inquisitive look, leaning against the wall in the hallway that leads directly to the stage. She could even see it from here._

_“Please don’t remind me.”_

_“Aww, come on! You’re amazing at the piano! You’re really talented at it! Nothing to be nervous about!”_

_Riko gave her a hesitant smile, switching between looking at the piano and the girl with her. “I appreciate the compliments Yō, but you know I’m not buying that. I’m just decent at it.”_

_“Every professional is at least decent at their craft!”_

_“Yeah, and those “professionals” go beyond “decent”. I’m just “at” decent.”_

_Yō smiled._

_“Well, every time you play the piano it’s like I can stop doing what I’m doing, whether it’s for someone or for me. It’s like I can relax and remind myself that I should take a break. Like this weird, fluffy feeling I can’t name but every time I experience it I love every second of it. It’s like being able to fly even if you’re still bound to the ground._

_“It’s a beautiful feeling. It’s like a star. So beautiful—”_ _yet so far._

_Riko gave a small laugh and Yō replied with a encouraging smile. What she said wasn’t enough to erase her insecurities, but it was enough to chase away her nervousness. Even if it’s for a moment, even if it’s for just this moment, at least her mind will be at peace._

_She wasn’t staring at a mirror that constantly told her what looked off. She wasn’t looking down at the ground and pitying herself for who she was. She wasn’t staring off into the sky wishing for opportunities that cannot crawl to her._

_“Ms. Sakurauchi, please proceed outside.”_

_“I know you can do it.” Yō gave her a small push, not enough to make her stumble, but enough to start her momentum. A thumbs up and a swooning smile caught Riko’s eyes as she turned back, and that convinced her that maybe she’ll enjoy this recital after all._

_“You are Riko, and the world is your stage.”_

 

* * *

 

“Ma! I’m homee~!” Yō was always happy to be home. Riko never questioned it, because she never really had the guts to. Though Riko was happy when she was home too, she had all the time in the world. Even if Chika would sometimes be really reckless and jump over the balcony, she felt comfortable.

She wasn’t home though. She was at Yō’s place.

When the girl didn’t get any response, she frowned and turned to Riko. “I guess mama’s not home…”

Another thing that Riko found adorable about Yō was her love for her mother. It was heartwarming, in a world where it’s more stereotypical to see children bear disdain for their parents, it was nice to see that Yō loved her mother so much.

(But it was also a bit pitying, her mom wasn’t home, so Yō frowned, and Riko—jeez why now—found it cute)

“Did she tell you when she’d be home?” Riko asked as Yō neared the kitchen, getting a glass of water.

She noticed a note pinned on the fridge. " _I’ll be home later. I’ll be doing groceries._ Oh she’s out for groceries. Hehehe, you know what that means Riko?”

“What does it— Oh. You get to eat even if it's not meal time.” Riko deadpanned. “Save some for meals… I don’t want you to be starving days later because you finished all the groceries as soon as your mom came home...”

“Hey! I’m not like that!”

“Well, we don’t always know what we will and won’t do.”

Riko gave her a smug grin, and Yō simply nudged her in the side.

“That’s enough, let’s study.”

If it weren’t for the fact that the material that they were going to study was easy, Riko would’ve groaned with Yō too. But this time, she found it cute.

Ok, maybe she  _does_ like Yō. And no she  _isn’t_ telling anyone, not even Chika. Oh god if she told Chika that would make things more awkward. Chika was a trustworthy person, but Riko knew from the bottom of her heart if she admitted that she had a crush on Yō—her best friend—Chika would lose it and tell her immediately.

Or maybe not, but Riko’s really shy and she’d rather not open that door till… Maybe she shouldn’t open the door. Chika’s perceptive anyway, she’d find out on her own. That’s a bridge she’ll cross soon.

“Study? Are you okay?”

“All because I don’t get high grades doesn’t mean I don’t like to study Rikoo~~”

Riko laughed. “I’m joking, I’m joking.”

 

* * *

 

_Sometimes I felt guilty, because so many times have you asked me if I was fine._

 

_I never listened, because I wanted to ignore these feelings I have for you._

 

_I am fine, Yō._

 

_But we weren’t._

 

_We were so happy before, but I think I pushed you too far._

 

* * *

 

“You keep ignoring me lately, Riko…” Yō frowned, and Riko felt nothing but guilt. “Have I done something wrong? I told you that I would stop doing something if you didn’t like it…

“Do you not trust me—”

“I do! I really do!

“I just… I don’t know. I’ve been feeling down lately and… I guess I needed time to myself. You know how it is—”

“I don’t.” Her tone was sharp and confident, like she knew Riko was lying. “You’re hiding something from me again. If you were the Riko I knew during the first few days, I would’ve believed you. But we’re closer now. Riko, I  _know_ you. You aren’t like this.”

Riko fiddled with her fingers. “I guess people can change?”

“That’s sudden…” She really wasn’t buying the act, and yet she was playing along. Riko was aware that Yō was aware that Riko was lying. “And yet I still don’t believe you.”

“I knew you wouldn’t.”

“So why are you still hiding?”

“Do you remember what you said to me before? When you were freaking out about thunderstorms and you were explaining why you were still hiding even though the storm has passed a few minutes after?”

“‘The hunted will always hide even if the hunter spots them?’”

“You were pretty poetic.”

“That doesn’t explain why you’re not coming out though.”

“Well, I don’t want to.”

Riko’s heart was beating so fast that it was almost the only thing she could hear. Yō’s mouth was moving, and she could hear only some of what she was saying. She couldn’t believe that she was hiding from her crush, all because of some feelings that she wanted to ignore. She can’t believe she was risking their friendship over some good-for-nothing feelings.

“Riko. Please. Did I offend you?”

“It’s nothing. I promise you.”

“You keep doing this. Always running away from me.” Yō sat on her bed, fixing the messy clothes on it to keep her mind busy. “Whenever I needed to understand you, you were always 10 steps away. Sometimes, you weren’t in my sight at all.”

Riko gaped. “Since  _when_ did I run away from you? I never left you!”

“You were jealous about how Yoshiko and I were getting closer once. I tried talking to you about it but you brushed it off. I accidentally said something mean and I tried apologizing but we never got to end it happily. I’m lucky we’re not each other’s necks. All the problems that you had, I promised you I’d help you, but you always wanted to suffer alone. I allowed you to help me, why can’t I not help you?

“I’m getting tired of you going away to solve your own problems even when you obviously can’t. If you keep this up, you might as well stay wherever you ran off to.”

“Yō!”

Riko gritted her teeth and began to tap her foot faster than normal. She was used to people making assumptions about her behind her back, but seeing someone she spent so long with making assumptions about her that aren’t even true, it riled her up.

“You don’t know anything!”

“You won’t tell me anything! I keep asking you but you keep saying you’re fine even though I know you aren’t! I thought we were friends and yet you really don’t trust me enough huh—”

“That’s a lie! I trust you more than anyone else! You’re the one I spend all night up with chatting! You’re the one I tell you the most about my day. You’re the one that makes me happy because your happy is just that contagious. You’re my best friend. So don’t you dare think that I don’t trust you enough.”

“Then explain to me what’s happening now. If you trusted me enough, we wouldn’t be talking like this! I’m always being left in the dark. Fine then, I can deal with that pain again.”

“Stop guilt-tripping me! It isn’t working or helping!”

Yō nodded, yet the look in her eyes were fierce. Riko felt like crying whereas Yō thought it’d be okay to add to that fire and guilt-trip her. It pissed her off, but she could never hurt Yō. She could never, ever hurt—

“Riko? Are you crying?” The hostile eyes turned to one of concern. “I’m sorry!! I should have never…”

“Yeah, you were being a prick. I would’ve hit you…” Riko laughed, yet the tears still got to her. “I couldn’t bring myself to hurt you...”

“Ahhh…” Yō smirked and gave Riko a small peck on the cheek. “It’s because you love me, hehe.”

(Riko would’ve hit Yō for saying that so smugly, in retrospect)

It took a few seconds for Yō to notice that something else was up when Riko didn’t respond.

“Did I say something bad again?” Yō looked at Riko and noticed her not making eye contact. Riko shook her head and blushed. Yō then realized what Riko was referring to and— “I love you too.”

Riko immediately turned to dust.

(She couldn’t believe they confessed to each other like this, but she’d take it anyway.)

 

* * *

 

_But after everything we’ve been through,_

_I think we’ll be ok._

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> you's harsh (lol), she's still my favorite though


End file.
